Dr. Christopher Herd

Visiting Scientist
herd@ualberta.ca

Investigates the petrogenesis of igneous rocks from Mars in the form of the shergottite meteorites. Primary focus of the postdoctoral research is evaluating evidence for dissolved water in martian magmas, by performing experiments at the Johnson Space Center Experimental Petrology Lab that use a synthetic shergottite composition doped with light lithophile elements (Li, B and Be). Additional and related interests, (and ongoing research): redox conditions of crystallization of martian basalts and implications for the nature of the martian crust (including presence of hydrous phases); partitioning of trace transition elements between minerals in martian meteorites.

Last updated
February 15, 2007